The discharge of chlorinated organics, particularly chlorophenols, to the environment is a major public health concern. In addition to causing taste and odor problems in potable water supplies, some chloro-organics are believed to be carcinogenic or mutagenic. Because chlorinated organics are inherently recalcitrant to biological degradation, these compounds pass through conventional wastewater treatment plants largely uneffected. To our knowledge, no effective method of biologically degrading chloro-organics has heretofore been recognized or proposed.
There have been recent attempts to use biological processes for treating effluents from papermaking operations to decolorize such effluents. Nova Scotia Research Foundation, Environment Canada, Cooperative Pollution Abatement Research Project Report No. 410-1 (1976). One of these attempts proposes the use of white-rot fungi to decolorize such effluents. Fukuzumi, Nishida, Aoshima, and Minami, Decolorization of Kraft Waste Liquor with White Rot Fungi (pt. 1) 23 (6) Journal of the Japan Wood Research Society 290 (1977). However, none of these attempts propose, or to our knowledge even recognize, that white rot fungi will degrade chloro-organics. Since chlorinated organics are used as fungicides, the degradation of chlorinated organics by the fungus was unexpected and surprising.
With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide an effective process of biologically degrading chloro-organics contained in certain liquids to improve the environmental character thereof.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a process of degrading chloro-organics and particularly chlorophenols by using white rot fungi to convert the aromatics to aliphatics.